Mining machine with cylindrical excavating head



J. P. RUTH Oct. 19, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MINING MACHINE WITH CYLINDRICAL EXCAVATING HEAD Filed July 14, 1951 ME=====EEE=EEE m a n a E A M=E==EE==EEE=E 522.

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I e 222 F HUN! mlllll nu-E an! ZSnventor JOSEPH F? RUTH I attonzeg Oct. 19, 1954 J. P. RUTH MINING MACHINE WITH CYLINDRICAL EXCAVATING HEAD Filed July 14, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 6

JOSEPyUTl-I (Ittorneg Smaepto;

Patented Oct. 19, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MINING MACHINE WITH CYLINDRICAL EXCAVATING HEAD 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to machine units poweroperable in underground workings, such as drifts and tunnels, to mine and excavate the materials of natural earth strata for the recovery of such material or for extension of the underground working, and has as an object to provide an improved construction and interassociation of elements constituting such a machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved machine unit operable for the mining of coal and analogous natural materials with efiiciency and economy.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved mining machine adjustably poweroperable to effectively engage with and Work over the entire face area of an underground drift or tunnel.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved mining machine characterized by a powered excavating head of novel design and enhanced efliciency.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mining machine characterized by novel and improved means for powering the excavating, or mining, head thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved mining machine that is simple and rugged of construction in a wide range of particular sizes and embodiments, that is efiicient in operation, adjustable through a Wide range of effectiveness, facile and convenient of use, and adaptable to function in a variety of particular operations.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of elements as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a typical embodiment of the invention as arranged ready for practical use. Figure 2 is a top plan view of the organization according to Figure 1. Figure 3 is a cross section taken substantially on the indicated line '3-3 of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a vertical section taken substantially on the indicated line 4-4 of Figure 2. Figure 5 is a fragmentary, detail elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the excavating head of the unit as viewed from the forward, or operating, end of the assembly. Figure 6 is a fragmentary, detail view, partly in section, similar to the showing at the right-hand end of Figure 3 and illustrating an alternative arrangement of the elements comprised in said showing. I

In the illustrated embodiment of the inprovement, a rigid fram I 0 of any appropriate pair'- ticular construction is suitably supported for translation, as by means of wheels H and axles l2, and is adapted for power translation through the agency of a motor l3 carried by said frame in driving relation, through appropriate conventional means, with one of the axles 12. Revolubly carried by and immediately above the frame to, a rigid platform M is preferably formed with a cylindrical offset from its under surface which is received in a corresponding recess centrally of the frame Ill upper surface, a ball race l5, or equivalent anti-friction arrangement, being interposed between adjacent marginal areas of said onset and recess to facilitate rotation of the platform about its center and relative to the frame. A stem [6 fixedly depends centrally from the platform It through the frame l9 and carries a worm gear E! on its lower end within a housing beneath said frame, and a worm I8 in driven relation with a motor 19 meshes with the gear il to selectively drive the latter for rotation of the platform l i relative to the frame Iii.

Struts 2% fixedly upstand from corners of the platform M in a convergence longitudinally of the assembly and are rigidly interlinked at their upper ends, both longitudinally and transversely of the platform, by means of a frame 2| spacedly paralleling the platform M and determining an over-all height of the assembly somewhat less that of the tunnel or drift wherein the machine is operable. Between the struts 20 at each side of the platform l4, and in spaced, parallel relation on opposite sides of the transverse center line of said platform, a pair of like feed screws 22 is disposed to vertically upstand in journaled relation of their ends in and to span between a gear box 23 fixed on andabove the corresponding platform margin and the frame 2| member thereabove, one such pair of said screws 22 being thus provided at each side of the platform M. A trunnion block E l is ,threadedly traversed by the paired screws 22 at each side of the platform I l, thereby to mount said block for travel altitudinally along its pair of said screws in re-. action to screw rotation, and gears 25 fixed to lower ends of the screws 22 within the boxes 23 are engaged in driven relation with motors 26 carried by the platform M adjacent the gear boxes 23 and synchronously interlinked, asat 2?, so as to simultaneously and correspondingly drive both sets of said screws 22 for correspond-.- ing, synchronous, altitudinal travel of the trunnion blocks 24 engaged by said screws. Thread A boom 30 is formed with spindles 3| outstand-.

ing oppositely and laterally from its approximate midlength to constitute a transverse axis of boom oscillation, and said spindles 3| are journaled in the trunnion blocks 24 at the opposite sides of the assembly so as to mount the boom 30 for altitudinal travel with said blocks and for oscillation in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis defined by the spindles 3| as engaged in the blocks. As so mounted, the boom 30 is disposed longitudinally of and above the platform [4 in a length to project at each end beyond said platform and the frame [0. At the forward, or excavating side of the assembly, the boom-30'is constituted to provide a pair of spaced parallel arms 32 adapted to operatively mount an excavating head, as hereinafter more particularly described, and at the opposite side of its oscillatory axis said boom is constituted as a rearwardly-opening yoke 33 centered on the longitudinal median line of the assembly. Arms of the yoke 33 are disposed in vertical planes and are longitudinally slotted for the reception and sliding accommodation of aligned pins 34 oppositely outstanding from a, gear box 35 receivable between the yoke arms in operative engagement with and for travel altitudinally along a threaded jack stem 36 extensible, as by means of a hand crank 31, into clamped engagement vertically between the fioor and roof of the drift or tunnel just rearwardly of the frame I0, and a motor 38 is associated with the gear box 35 in driving relation with the gear elements of said box for selective actuation in a manner to elevate or depress said box on and along the jack screw 36 with corresponding elevation or depression of the boom yoke end about the axis of the boom spindles 3 l The excavating head of the machine is a right cylindrical member 39 of appropriate length, diameter, and material, from which radially project integral or inserted tooth elements 40 of any desired particular form and construction in any appropriate pattern relative to the head 39. Inwardly adjacent its ends, the head 39 is formed with coaxialpintles 4| of appropriate size in a disposition and spacing appropriate for their reception in bearings adjacent the ends of the boom arms 32, whereby to mount said head 39 for rotation on and transversely of the boom forward end. in spaced parallelism with the 'aXis of boom oscillation. Spaced inwardly of the head 39 from and adjacent the pintles 4|, slots transversely intersect said head to expose crank pins 42 fixedly bridging their respective slots in axially-parallel relation with the head axis and eccentric thereto, and similar crank pins 43 fixedly outstand axially from ends of said head in an eccentric relation therewith. Journaled for rotation in the boom arms 32, and in and through a gear box 44 centrally of the boom, a crankshaft 45 is mounted with its axis parallel to, or coincident with, the axis of boom vertical oscillation and is provided with suitable eccentric throws aligned longitudinally of the assembly with the crank pins 42 and 43 and operatively connected with said pins by means of rods 46, there being four such throws and four rods 46 in the illustrated embodiment of the invention so arranged as to dispose one of the said rods 46 on each side of each of the boom arms 32. In the interest of effective operation, the throws of the crankshaft 45 lie in angularlyrelated planes radially of the shaft and the pins 42 and 43 are similarly disposed in relative angularity about the head axis, thereby to obviate the development of dead centers during operation of the apparatus.

A bevel gear 41 is fixed to that portion of the crankshaft 45 traversing the gear box centrally of the boom 39 and a bevel pinion 48 is fixed to the power shaft of a motor 49 carried by the boom rearwardly adjacent the gear 41 and meshes with said last-named gear to rotatively drive the crankshaft when the motor 49 is energized, thus to rotate the head 39 about its axis through the agency of the rods 46 and their eccentric connection to said head. To develop and maintain end clearance for the head 39, forward ends of the rods 46 engaged with the pins 43 on the ends of said head are furnished with laterally and forwardly projecting teeth 50 operable to arcuately gouge and dislodge the material against which they are projected as an incident of rod operation. To somewhat similar effect, forward ends of the rods 46 engaged with the slot-bridging pins 42 of the head 39 are toothed, as at 5!, to disrupt any ridges which might be left on the working face in registration with the path of the head slots, and forward ends of the boom arms 32 are equipped with inclined chisel teeth 52 arranged to rip through and dislodge any working face ridges registered with said boom arms as the boom is oscillated about its horizontal axis to move the head 39 altitudinally along the working face.

When and as desired, provision may be made for oscillating the platform l4, and the elements mounted thereon, in the horizontal plane during excavating operation of the head 39, thereby to extend the width of cut effected by said head for the development of commodious head end clearances and for the positive elimination of any ridges otherwise left on the working face in registration with the head slots accommodating the arms 32 and rods 46; such horizontal oscillation of the platform and excavating head being feasible only when the jacks 28 are retracted to free the platform assembly relative to the roof of the drift or tunnel. Since the jack stem 36 is rigidly clamped as a vertical strut between the roof and floor of the working during operation of the machine, an expedient means of effecting the horizontal oscillation above mentioned may act against said stem as a fixed base to oscillate the yoke 33 end of the boom 30 laterally thereof, substantially as represented by the arrangement of Figure 6. As typified in the view last mentioned, the arms of the yoke 33 are laterally spaced apart for considerable play in the horizontal plane relative to the gear box 35 therebetween and the pins 34 are extended for maintained engagement with the yoke arm slots in every disposition of said yoke laterally of the stem 36, an elongated loop 53 is fixed to the outer end of one of said pins 34 with its long axis perpendicular to the pin axis and the axis of the stem 36, a crank 54 is journaled for rotation about a vertical axis in a bracket 55 fixedly outstanding from the yoke 33 arm adjacent said loop 53 with its eccentric element engaged in said loop, and a motor 56 is carried by said bracket in appropriate driving relation with said crank. Thus, when the motor 55 is energized, power rotation of the crank 54 operates in an obvious manner to oscillate the yoke 33 in the horizontal plane relative to the stem 36 and to consequently oscillate the excavating head 39 laterally of the working face.

In the use of the improved apparatus, the jacks 28 are retracted toward the frame 2| and the jack stem 3t is retracted in length and tilted over against the boom 39 for travel with the assembly, whereafter, a suitable source or supply of energy for the several motors being available, the unit is moved under power supplied through the motor It to the desired position of its use, in which position the jacks 2B are extended to engagement with the roof of the drift or tunnel, thus to immobilize the apparatus, and the jack stem 3E5 is swung into upright position and extended to clamp between the roof and floor of the entry as a secure and stable mount for the gear box 35 and associated elements. With the unit thus positioned and the head 39 engaged with the face to be excavated, the motor 49 is energized to rotate the head 39 about its axis and the motor 38 is operated to develop travel of the boom rearward and along the stem 36 for consequent reversely-directed travel of the head 39 along and in excavating engagement with the face. With the head frame 21 free relative to the roof of the working and the arrangement according to Figure 6 available, operation of the motor 56 simultaneously with motor 38 and 49 operation functions to laterally oscillate the head 39 as it rotates with excavating efieot against and altitudinally of the working face. After the boom has been oscillated to carry the operating head 39 through the full range of its altitudinal travel, the jack stem 36 is retracted, the motor 19 operated to swing the platform [4 about its vertical axis for repositioning of the head 39, and the jack stem 36 is again clamped between the roof and floor of the entry for repetition of the excavating cycle; the motors 26 being selectively available to operate the feed screws 22 and thereby determine, and selectively fix, the position of the boom oscillatory axis through a range permitting excavation by the head 39 through an altitudinal span equalling or exceeding the overall height on the apparatus.

With the construction and arrangement of elements shown and described, it is feasible to apply the power of the motor 49 to most positively and powerfully rotate the head 39 at relatiely low speed, thereby permitting the teeth to of said head to tear and break apart the material being excavated, rather than to grind and pulverize such material, and the mounting of the head 39 permits high operative flexibility throughout an unusually extensive lateral and altitudinal range.

Since changes, variations, and modifications in the particular form, construction, and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of my invention, I wish to be understood as being limited. solely by the scope of the appended claims,

rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a mining machine having a boom framemounted for adjustment in a vertical are about an altitudinally-shiftable, horizontal axis and a generally-cylindrical excavating head journaled transversely of one end of said boom for rotation about its axis spacedly paralleling the boommounting axis, means effective to revolubly drive said head with powerful disruptive effect on material thereby engaged, said means comprising crank pins spaced apart longitudinally and eccentrically of said head and paralleling the head axis in a relative angular displacement, one such crank pin outstanding from each end of the head, a crankshaft journaled transversely of said boom for rotation about an axis paralleling the head axis with its throws aligned with said crank pins longitudinally of the boom, drive rods operatively coupling the aligned pins and crankshaft throws, a ripping tooth fixedly projecting from the end of each said drive rod engaged with a crank pin, and a prime mover on said boom in driving relation with said crankshaft.

2. In a mining machine having a boom framemounted for adjustment in a vertical arc about an altitudinally-shiftable, horizontal axis and a generally-cylindrical excavating head journaled transversely of one end of said boom for rotation about its axis spacedly paralleling the boommounting axis, means effective to'revolubly drive said head with powerful disruptive effect on material thereby engaged, said means comprising end extensions of said head laterally of and beyond the boom, angularly-displaced crank pins eccentrically of and extending oppositely from said end extensions in spaced parallelism with the head axis, other crank pins spacedly and eccentrically interrupting the length of said head in angularly-offset relation and parallel to the head axis, a crankshaft journaled transversely of said boom for rotation about an axis paralleling the head axis with its throws aligned with said crank pins longitudinally of the boom, drive rods operatively coupling the aligned pins and crankshaft throws, ripping teeth fixedly projecting from the ends of said rods engaged with the crank pins, and a prime mover on said boom in driving relation with said crankshaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Jan. 14, 1932 

